thedrifter
12-01-03, 01:26 PM
Issue Date: August 19th, 2002
The lore of the Corps
UH-34D helicopter proved it was a tough old bird
By Robert F. Dorr
Special to the Times
On April 9, 1962, Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 362 — “Archie’s Angels” — arrived in Soc Trang, South Vietnam, with 24 HUS-1 helicopters. The squadron, commanded by Lt. Col. Archie Clapp, was first to operate helicopters in significant numbers in Vietnam, a country unknown to many Americans.
Later that year, the Pentagon renamed the helicopter the UH-34D. But to Marines it was the Sea Horse or, because of its letter suffix, the “Dog.”
It was an old aircraft in a new war. It was powered by an often-cantankerous Wright R-1820 radial engine, which hung out front where some pilots welcomed it as an unintended armor shield. The helicopter had a main rotor diameter of 56 feet.
Marines often compare the UH-34D to the Springfield .03 infantry rifle of World War II. Long after the Army shifted to the more efficient M1 Garand, Marine riflemen still were shooting the Springfield. Like the rifle, the UH-34D was older than what the Army was using, the UH-1B Huey. Also like the rifle, it was more difficult to use but thoroughly reliable. And, finally, like the Springfield, the UH-34D had its eccentricities.
“Eccentricities? Maybe so, but it was as reliable as next week,” said Lt. Col. Jerry Dooley, a participant in that first combat tour by HMH-362, when Americans were advisers.
Dooley remembers making repeated S-turns in a UH-34D, something difficult to do in other helicopters, and blasting away with hand-held M3A1 submachine guns, so-called grease guns, at Viet Cong guerrillas in canoes who were firing at him with M1 Garand rifles and even bows and arrows.
Between 1963 and 1969, Marines operated the UH-34D at Da Nang, Chu Lai, Marble Mountain and other locations.
Ultimately, a half-dozen Marine squadrons flew the “Dog” in Vietnam, namely HMMs 162, 163, 261, 361, 363, 362 and 365, some for as little as a four-month tour, others for up to two years.
Former Capt. Joseph Scholle flew in combat with HMH-363, the “Red Lions.” According to Scholle, the UH-34D was the only Vietnam helicopter that could keep flying if the tail rotor was shot off.
“The large magnesium slab of the rear fuselage acted as a ‘sail’ that offset rotor torque so long as air speed was maintained above 40 knots,” Scholle said. Below that speed, it was necessary to shut down the engine and autorotate (allow the rotor to be turned by the airstream) in order to reach the ground safely. At least one UH-34D made it back to HMH-363’s principal base, Marble Mountain, with crippling tail-rotor damage that would have caused a Huey to rotate itself into pieces.
The most rewarding mission for UH-34D aircrews was medical evacuation, or medevac. It provided a lifesaving service to fellow Marines, often when landing zones were under fire.
“There were a lot of nuances to doing this mission correctly,” Scholle said. “You had to land with the helo between the medevac and the source of enemy fire so as to shield those carrying the casualty to the chopper. You had to land as close to the medevac as possible to reduce the carrying task and exposure of the grunts to the Viet Cong. In the event of enemy fire, you wanted your escorting gunship to blow up the general part of the world from whence the fire came.”
Throughout the war, the Navy kept an amphibious assault ship off the coast of Vietnam, usually the Iwo Jima or the Princeton, with a battalion of ground troops specifically trained for quick response to battlefield situations. UH-34D crews rotated duty aboard these flattops and savored the Navy food and bunks, which were far more comfortable than what was available to their brothers in hot spots like Chu Lai and Con Thien. Much of the time, though, UH-34D aircrews lived in the mud with fellow leathernecks.
Once the UH-1E Huey, CH-46A Sea Knight and CH-53A Sea Stallion began reaching Marines in Vietnam, the UH-34D was ready for retirement. Its last combat mission was flown in 1969.
The Marines first ordered the HUS-1 (UH-34D) on Oct. 15, 1954, and operated 515 of these helicopters. They became operational in 1957. In 1961, a Marine HUS-1 was used in the recovery of astronaut Alan Shepard following his splashdown after the first manned U.S. space flight.
In 1960, seven HSS-1Z (VH-34D) models were assigned to presidential airlift duties. Forty of these helicopters, which operated on pontoons, were known as HUS-1A (UH-34E) models.
But the Vietnam-era version is best known, and its memory lives today. At least two ex-Marine UH-34Ds are flown at air shows by civilian owners.
Robert F. Dorr, a military veteran, lives in Oakton, Va. His e-mail address is robertdorr@aol .com.
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/archivepaper.php?f=0-MARINEPAPER-1032301.php
Sempers,
Roger
:marine:
The lore of the Corps
UH-34D helicopter proved it was a tough old bird
By Robert F. Dorr
Special to the Times
On April 9, 1962, Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 362 — “Archie’s Angels” — arrived in Soc Trang, South Vietnam, with 24 HUS-1 helicopters. The squadron, commanded by Lt. Col. Archie Clapp, was first to operate helicopters in significant numbers in Vietnam, a country unknown to many Americans.
Later that year, the Pentagon renamed the helicopter the UH-34D. But to Marines it was the Sea Horse or, because of its letter suffix, the “Dog.”
It was an old aircraft in a new war. It was powered by an often-cantankerous Wright R-1820 radial engine, which hung out front where some pilots welcomed it as an unintended armor shield. The helicopter had a main rotor diameter of 56 feet.
Marines often compare the UH-34D to the Springfield .03 infantry rifle of World War II. Long after the Army shifted to the more efficient M1 Garand, Marine riflemen still were shooting the Springfield. Like the rifle, the UH-34D was older than what the Army was using, the UH-1B Huey. Also like the rifle, it was more difficult to use but thoroughly reliable. And, finally, like the Springfield, the UH-34D had its eccentricities.
“Eccentricities? Maybe so, but it was as reliable as next week,” said Lt. Col. Jerry Dooley, a participant in that first combat tour by HMH-362, when Americans were advisers.
Dooley remembers making repeated S-turns in a UH-34D, something difficult to do in other helicopters, and blasting away with hand-held M3A1 submachine guns, so-called grease guns, at Viet Cong guerrillas in canoes who were firing at him with M1 Garand rifles and even bows and arrows.
Between 1963 and 1969, Marines operated the UH-34D at Da Nang, Chu Lai, Marble Mountain and other locations.
Ultimately, a half-dozen Marine squadrons flew the “Dog” in Vietnam, namely HMMs 162, 163, 261, 361, 363, 362 and 365, some for as little as a four-month tour, others for up to two years.
Former Capt. Joseph Scholle flew in combat with HMH-363, the “Red Lions.” According to Scholle, the UH-34D was the only Vietnam helicopter that could keep flying if the tail rotor was shot off.
“The large magnesium slab of the rear fuselage acted as a ‘sail’ that offset rotor torque so long as air speed was maintained above 40 knots,” Scholle said. Below that speed, it was necessary to shut down the engine and autorotate (allow the rotor to be turned by the airstream) in order to reach the ground safely. At least one UH-34D made it back to HMH-363’s principal base, Marble Mountain, with crippling tail-rotor damage that would have caused a Huey to rotate itself into pieces.
The most rewarding mission for UH-34D aircrews was medical evacuation, or medevac. It provided a lifesaving service to fellow Marines, often when landing zones were under fire.
“There were a lot of nuances to doing this mission correctly,” Scholle said. “You had to land with the helo between the medevac and the source of enemy fire so as to shield those carrying the casualty to the chopper. You had to land as close to the medevac as possible to reduce the carrying task and exposure of the grunts to the Viet Cong. In the event of enemy fire, you wanted your escorting gunship to blow up the general part of the world from whence the fire came.”
Throughout the war, the Navy kept an amphibious assault ship off the coast of Vietnam, usually the Iwo Jima or the Princeton, with a battalion of ground troops specifically trained for quick response to battlefield situations. UH-34D crews rotated duty aboard these flattops and savored the Navy food and bunks, which were far more comfortable than what was available to their brothers in hot spots like Chu Lai and Con Thien. Much of the time, though, UH-34D aircrews lived in the mud with fellow leathernecks.
Once the UH-1E Huey, CH-46A Sea Knight and CH-53A Sea Stallion began reaching Marines in Vietnam, the UH-34D was ready for retirement. Its last combat mission was flown in 1969.
The Marines first ordered the HUS-1 (UH-34D) on Oct. 15, 1954, and operated 515 of these helicopters. They became operational in 1957. In 1961, a Marine HUS-1 was used in the recovery of astronaut Alan Shepard following his splashdown after the first manned U.S. space flight.
In 1960, seven HSS-1Z (VH-34D) models were assigned to presidential airlift duties. Forty of these helicopters, which operated on pontoons, were known as HUS-1A (UH-34E) models.
But the Vietnam-era version is best known, and its memory lives today. At least two ex-Marine UH-34Ds are flown at air shows by civilian owners.
Robert F. Dorr, a military veteran, lives in Oakton, Va. His e-mail address is robertdorr@aol .com.
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/archivepaper.php?f=0-MARINEPAPER-1032301.php
Sempers,
Roger
:marine: